College Football Wrap Up: Week 13

After taking off week 12 to spend some vacation time with the family College Football Wrap-Up is back for week 13. Rivalry week proved to be quite the week, bringing about many changes and also raising some questions surrounding the future of some storied programs.

• Starting off with Notre Dame, we have some very interesting changes with the firing of head coach Charlie Weis before their potential bowl appearance. After an up and down season for the Irish, Charlie Weis couldn’t overcome his critics over these last 5 seasons. It isn’t a surprise after The Irish were expected to make a BCS run and finished a paltry 6-6, losing their last 4 straight games including losses to Navy and Connecticut.
• In some rather sad news, Florida State Seminoles Head Coach Bobby Bowden announced his retirement Tuesday after one of the most prolific tenures ever for a head coach. In his 34th year, Bowden has two national championships to his credit and also led the Seminoles to one of the most dominant batches of seasons ever in college football from 1987-2000 with an astounding 14 consecutive top  finishes in the top five. Bowden amassed a mind boggling 388 wins in his career, leaving him second in the all time wins only to Penn State’s Joe Paterno.
• In rivalry week action, we started off with a bang on turkey day with #3 Texas taking on conference rival Texas A&M in an exciting shootout from both offenses. Aggies QB Jerrod Johnson was able to show the nation that he can be a dangerous weapon going 26-33 for 342 yards and 4 TD’s keeping the Aggies in the hunt for most of the game. However, Heisman frontrunner Colt McCoy was slingin’ his guns to a different tune accounting for a total of 479 all purpose yards, including a career high 175 yards on the ground, and 5 total touchdowns leading the longhorns to victory 48-39.
• On to a close conference game on Friday morning between #2 Alabama and unranked Auburn, Alabama’s offense looked like it was struggling in the first half without having RB Mark Ingram available for most  the game. The Crimson Tide managed to keep their national championship hopes alive however, overcoming a 14 point deficit and regained the lead to grab the win 26-21.
• Undefeated #5 Cincinnati met Illinois this weekend and it looked like an offensive playground with the Bearcats signal caller Tony Pike tossing 6 touchdowns in the victory, 49-36.
• Also undefeated, #6 Boise State dominated Nevada with a great offensive team performance. Despite late comeback effort from the Wolf Pack, the Broncos kept their winning streak on their patented blue turf alive at 44, gaining the win 44-33.
• In another great matchup this weekend we saw some great coaching efforts with #15 Pittsburgh taking on a tough West Virginia squad. In what was a defensive hold off from both teams, West Virginia’s little lightning bolt RB Noel Devine’s rushing effort proved to be the difference in this one gaining 174 yards and a touchdown to take the win 19-16.
• Finally on to Saturday, we saw the nation’s #1 team Florida taking on their biggest rival, Florida State. In a game that was very emotional for Gators QB Tim Tebow in front of his home crowd for the last time in the swamp, Tebow’s leadership and emotional effort steamrolled the Gators past the Seminoles 37-10. The only thing in their way from another National Championship is a potential upset in the SEC championship game against #2 Alabama. You could hardly ask for a more dramatic end to a season with the nation’s #1 and #2 meeting in the last game of the season.
• Next we had in-state rivals Virginia Tech taking on the Virginia Cavaliers in what might have been Cavaliers coach Al Groh’s  last effort in the ACC. It was a disappointing performance due to the outstanding rushing effort of Hokies RB Darren Evans who ran for 183 yards on 24 carries and racked up 4 TD’s on their way to a victory 42-13.
• Finally we saw # 18 USC back in the win column again against rival UCLA with consistent play on offense from the Trojans. USC seemed to abandon some of their typical flashy offense that we have become accustomed to, but still good enough for the solid win, 28-7.
• Powerhouse # 17 Miami had their hands full with taking on South Florida. Canes QB Jacory Harris kept his head in the game especially in the third quarter, accounting for two passing touchdowns on the day to get the win, 31-10.
• The ACC’s top team #10 Georgia Tech lost this weekend’s matchup against unranked Rival Georgia from the SEC, with the Bulldogs relying heavily on the legs of RB Caleb King who rushed for 166 yards on just 16 carries and 2 TD’s. The Yellow Jackets seemed to rely too much on the athleticism of QB Josh Nesbitt, which just proved to be a bad game plan. Georgia Tech’s singular effort failed losing 24-30.
• Undefeated # 4 TCU ran straight though New Mexico and didn’t bother to look back. Andy Dalton’s four touchdowns helped lead the Horned Frogs to a perfect regular season 51-10. \
• # 20 Oklahoma State faced in state rival and unranked Oklahoma in an anticipated matchup where we saw only one team show up and that was the Sooners. This one was over quickly with RB DeMarco Murray’s two rushing TD’s to close it out. The Sooners tasted sweet victory 27-0 and offered some redemption to their mostly Bradford-less season.
• In a very, very close SEC Matchup we saw # 13 LSU battling an unranked Arkansas team. An all out offensive war between rivals, the Razorbacks stud- armed QB Ryan Mallet accounted for most of the yards on offense including one touchdown pass, while the Tigers offense looked to be more balanced when it counted. LSU QB  Jordan Jefferson threw for two TD’s  and showed that he can roll with the flow even after a tough loss to Missouri the week before, getting them the close win 33-30.
• Now unranked Clemson saw defeat in their meeting with Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks of South Carolina. With Tigers RB CJ Spillar coming up empty throughout the game, South Carolina’s QB Stephen Garcia showed up to play, accounting for  3 touchdowns and helping to get the victory 34-17.
• In other news outside the Top 25, Huskies QB Jake Locker remains on the radar as a possible top NFL prospect after an impressive performance against their rival Washington State, 30-0. Locker has stayed out of the mainstream spotlight since the team has faltered after an early win against USC, but Locker’s 6’3” 226 pound frame mixed with good agility and strength have many mock draft experts seeing him be the first QB drafted in 2010. With the possible changes coming in 2011 to the NFL’s pay system, 2010 could be one of the tightest draft classes ever as rookies try to land a big deal, since it doesn’t look like a new collective bargaining agreement will be signed.

In the Heisman race we seem to have Texas QB Colt McCoy as the favorite followed closely by Stanford’s own RB Toby Gerhart and also Florida’s now legendary QB Tim Tebow. This week’s games will be spectacular as we will start it off by seeing Oregon take on Oregon State for the Pac 10 title on Thursday, followed by two of the biggest games of the season on Saturday with #1 Florida taking on #2 Alabama for the SEC title, and #3 Texas facing #22 Nebraska for the Big 12. Well folks, I look forward to seeing you next week here at The Father Life to discuss the BCS schedule and if your favorite team made it to a bowl game.

Bobby Wren

Bobby Wren is a contributing sports enthusiast living out of El Paso, TX. He is currently involved in business and enjoys cooking for his family in his spare time. Bobby has been married for four years and has two wonderful children.